Cold-weather game may catch on

Big game at MetLife Stadium could boost other winter-weather sites

Associated Press

Associated Press

Published 9:59 pm, Thursday, December 19, 2013

In this Dec. 15, 2013 file photo, a mound of snow is shown outside of MetLife Stadium before an NFL football game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New York Giants, in East Rutherford, N.J. NFL officials may be embracing the notion of a cold-weather Super Bowl, but seriously: What happens if there is, in fact, a snow storm on Feb. 2? (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File) ORG XMIT: NY164

In this Dec. 15, 2013 file photo, a mound of snow is shown outside...

FILE - From left are file photos showing Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie in 2013, Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen in 2013, Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder in 2010, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft in 2013, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2013. This year's Super Bowl might be just the beginning of cold-weather big games for the NFL. Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago _ all major cities with outdoor venues that could host the event that is a Super Bowl Week _ could be lining up for their chance to be in the spotlight as a new era in the NFL is about to dawn. (AP Photo/File) ORG XMIT: NY158

For all the dire predictions making the rounds, you'd think they were playing "The Hunger Games" at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 2 instead of the Super Bowl.

"Cold or snowy is one thing," San Francisco 49er Phil Dawson said, "but if it's a blizzard it could be bad. ...That would make things crazy. I'm not sure how that would work."

Keep in mind Dawson is a kicker. And to be fair, scratch a half-dozen other players and NFL owners — who have the final say on Super Bowl sites — and you'll get differing opinions about the wisdom of playing the season's biggest game in the elements. Plenty grew up playing or watching the game that way and still love to; others were only too happy to get in out of the cold and stay there.

But the players and owners all agree with something Colts lineman Cory Redding said recently about trading a few uncomfortable hours outside for a shot at the title.

The guys that employ them feel just as strongly, even though all but one or two of the 32 owners will be ensconced in sky boxes that night instead of down on the field. But another handful or so will be paying even closer attention than usual, and not just to the game, but to the weeklong buildup.

Like co-hosts John Mara of the Giants and Woody Johnson of the Jets, those owners have franchises with outdoor stadiums in cold-weather towns. And if this Super Bowl makes it big in New York, then the reasoning goes that the big game can make it anywhere. New England, Philadelphia, Washington, Tennessee, Chicago, Kansas City, Denver — take your pick.

After New York, the next three Super Bowls are set for Phoenix (2015), Santa Clara, Calif. (2016; the 50th anniversary of the Superpalooza), and Houston (2017). The 2018 field has already been narrowed to Indianapolis, Minneapolis and perennial favorite New Orleans. All three finalists have — or in the case of Minneapolis, will have — a domed stadium. That winner will be announced in May.

By then, serious ownership contenders for 2019 will have begun raising cash from civic, business and community groups and helped formed bid committees. After winning the 2014 game, in a vote taken at the 2010 NFL owners meetings, the host New York-New Jersey committee raised $70 million to cover the cost of staging the event. Their final bill will have to cover everything from erecting a 60-foot-tall toboggan slide in Times Square to contingency plans on clearing snow and delivering upwards of 80,000 fans to MetLife Stadium.

Other than coming up with the cash and an organizational plan, the bar for entering the Super Bowl lottery is low.

A bid city must have 29,000 hotel rooms within an hour's drive of the stadium (sorry, Green Bay) and be able to seat upwards of 68,000 fans on game day. It also has to provide two NFL-caliber practice facilities for the teams, buildings large enough to house a media center and the "NFL Experience" — essentially a weeklong fan convention — and range of sponsor and corporate hospitality gatherings. Even towns where the field gets chewed up during the season can confidently bid, since NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league has arranged to bring in an entirely new playing surface for the big game in the past.

"At the end of the day, the considerations are the same as they would be for a game in a warm climate or indoors," McCarthy added. "What did the product on the field look like? Did the logistics work to the benefit of everybody? How was the fan experience? How did it come across on TV? How were the sponsors treated?

"This is the pinnacle of our game. It's the one stage that everybody is looking at."